In addition to helping students acquire new knowledge, teachers today also need to guide students in developing the skills they need to become more self-determined and lifelong learners. These are competencies that can help teachers do just that.

With nearly 200 free software applications, this new update is just jammed full of awesome free tools and tons of insights into how to use them in your courses and classrooms! If you’ve followed EmergingEdTech for a few years now,

Emerging EdTech has just released their newest version of the excellent e-book that covers free software applications. This version is free to download and it may become a great resource for you to check out when you are considering new projects to do with your learners.

And this is by no means a complete list. You will find many more tools if you download the free book. You will need to provide your name and email address to receive the download link. Click through to the post for additional information.

Emerging EdTech has just released their newest version of the excellent e-book that covers free software applications. This version is free to download and it may become a great resource for you to check out when you are considering new projects to do with your learners.

And this is by no means a complete list. You will find many more tools if you download the free book. You will need to provide your name and email address to receive the download link. Click through to the post for additional information.

Cursive writing? Should we teach it or not? Many states are still requiring cursive writing be taught, but it is not part of the Common Core. This infographic provides information about why it is important that students learn cursive.

Nice visual shared by Susan Bainbridge illustrating different aspects a teacher should be building to represent themselves as learners. I would go one step further and say students should be following the same structure.

In its weekly digest email, publishing platform Medium today quietly announced that registration is open to all. You’ll still need a Twitter account and an email address, but you no longer have to be invited to sign up for the service.

While there is no official announcement on Medium’s website, a blog post titled “How Do I Post?” offers a bit more detail. Head to medium.com/m/signin and sign up with your Twitter account. You’ll need to verify your email address by clicking the link in the email sent to you, and after that you’ll see a button on the Medium homepage that says “Request writing access.”...

Adobe’s Photoshop is the gold standard when it comes to photo-editing software – the preferred tool for many graphic designers and photographers. But many of the complex features that once only a Photoshop pro could do, can now be achieved using basic, free software that comes with your computer or downloaded from the Web. Think cropping, resizing, color adjustments, filters, red-eye removal, and automatic enhancements.

In fact, a lot of useful photo-editing features are built into online photo-sharing sites like Google+ and Flickr.However, what if you want to quickly apply one or two effects without having to become a Photoshop guru? We’ve found and tested a few online alternatives that won’t require you to fire up any photo-editing apps....

In Finland there is also a development in mental health practice known as Open Dialogue. Look it up. In Nottingham there is a group of people trying to bring Open Dialogue to the UK starting locally. What is it? It is a way of treating people in distress with real care and understanding rather than sedating them with drugs and labeling them Psychotic for life with on going prescriptions. The best way to avoid side affects. It is a real education so do look up more about this and look out for MHAW in Nottingham where you can find an event focuswd on Open Dialogue in the orange leaflet out soon in Libraries and GP surgeries.

"Screencasting, or capturing what you do on your computer (or tablet) in a video format while you narrate your actions, is one of the most powerful functions that modern computer technology has delivered to today’s educators."

EmergingEdTech has been running a Try-a-Tool-a-Week Challenge and this week Screencast-O-Matic is the tool of the week. If you have not used this tool and are interested in doing screencasting (also known as screen capture) take the time to review this video.

The free version allows you to record up to 15 minutes, but you cannot edit the film. There is a paid version for $15 per year, which allows for editing and unlimited length! Screencast-O-Matic may be used as a web app, or you can download it (PC and Mac).

This is one of my go-to tools. I use it for so many things. It's a great tool for tech support when you can share a screen with someone. Make a quick video to model what they should be doing on their computer.

In addition to helping students acquire new knowledge, teachers today also need to guide students in developing the skills they need to become more self-determined and lifelong learners. These are competencies that can help teachers do just that.

"Can ICT redefine the way we learn in the Networked Society? Technology has enabled us to interact, innovate and share in whole new ways. This dynamic shift in mindset is creating profound change throughout our society. The Future of Learning looks at one part of that change, the potential to redefine how we learn and educate. Watch as we talk with world renowned experts and educators about its potential to shift away from traditional methods of learning based on memorization and repetition to more holistic approaches that focus on individual students' needs and self expression."

A particularly thought-provoking video due to the outstanding people chosen to speak in it. It was produced by Ericsson in 2012, so it is relatively current. Appearances by Stepehn Heppell, Sugatra Mitra, Seth Godin, Jose Ferreira, Lois Mbugua, Margaret Kositany and Dephne Koller. Well worth the time to watch. Think about what setting you can show this in and the types of conversations that it can stimulate.

"Can ICT redefine the way we learn in the Networked Society? Technology has enabled us to interact, innovate and share in whole new ways. This dynamic shift in mindset is creating profound change throughout our society. The Future of Learning looks at one part of that change, the potential to redefine how we learn and educate. Watch as we talk with world renowned experts and educators about its potential to shift away from traditional methods of learning based on memorization and repetition to more holistic approaches that focus on individual students' needs and self expression."

I’m tempted to rectify my programming ignorance by pushing through what promises to be a rigorous intro to computer science, CS50, Harvard’s introductory course for both majors and non-majors alike. The course offers a broad knowledge base to build on, as you can see from thedescription below:

"Harvard has made this course available free to anyone—via YouTube, iTunes, and the course page—with a series of lectures filmed during the Fall 2011 semester. The class is led by David J. Malan, an enthusiastic young professor and Senior Lecturer on Computer Science at Harvard, and himself a product of Harvard’s Computer Science program. Professor Malan has also offered Harvard’s CS50 as a MOOC through edX. In the introductory lecture to CS50 (above), Malan promises that “this is one of those rare courses that actually squeezes your brain so much and your schedule so much that by the end of the semester you actually feel smarter.”

"Google Forms is one of the potent services Google provides for free for its users. Using Google Forms, you can very easily and without the need for any advanced technology knowledge create all kinds of forms to use with your students from contact forms to quizzes and polls. Since its inception a few years ago, Google Forms has undergone some major updates and the last one in this regard is enabling users to embed pictures and images into forms."

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